


What Lingers After

by TheNamelessGod



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26744152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNamelessGod/pseuds/TheNamelessGod
Summary: When the Miraculous bond with a chosen things begin to change. Magic takes hold and with these new developments, all three users begin to see things in new ways. Some better than others. But when one falls, it brings everything into question, partnerships, teams, friendships and love. Where will this new path take the heroes of Paris?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Chloé Bourgeois/Luka Couffaine, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Kudos: 6





	What Lingers After

When Adrien woke up that Monday morning it was a day like any other. Plagg was resting on the pillow beside him. Last night had been a long night for both of them. With an Akuma bent on letting the night last forever time had crawled to a still, while not literal it was hard to judge time by the unmoving moon and while this meant chat Noir and Ladybug didn't have to worry about timing out since everyone was asleep they still had to deal with the after-effects. Adrien was groggy at best. They had fought for several hours, cataclysm had been used a second time in a row and when everything had returned to normal it had been almost 4 in the morning. Adrien flinched as he was pulled back into the memory.

* * *

"Chat! Focus!" Chat was panting hard, the Akuma was using a wand as a weapon and the spells he slung were putting passing citizens to sleep. Chat had already been hit several times and sluggishness was settling in no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. "Chat I need you to stay awake!" Ladybug was practically dragging Chat over the rooftops. But in truth, she wasn't much better. Exhaustion was weighing heavily on them even if they didn't seem to need to change back anytime soon. Ladybug was clutching a small pane of glass in her other hand even as she hauled Chat over the next ledge. 

"My Lady, j-just set me down and go. I can't keep slowing you down like this.

" Chat stumbled after the next jump and Ladybug was forced to lean him against the wall, clutching a pane of glass in her arms. she didn't like how this night was turning out, her partner was asleep on his feet, her lucky charm was a pane of glass that she couldn't figure out and Nightmare was making it hard to pinpoint where he was in the shroud and with him the Akuma too. But no matter where she looked nothing came up. She was growing impatient and with Chat being so eager to just get left to the whim of the Akuma it was starting to get onto what little remained of her nerves. Regardless she tried her best to keep herself calm and gentle in her approach.

"Come on kitty, we can't stay put here. Nightmare is almost on top of us." Ladybug glanced over the wall and was surprised to see the Akuma fast approaching. Nightmare was like nothing they ever fought before, his body cloaked in a large mass of black that would shift as if waiting to take on a new form at any moment. At times he appeared as a large spider, other times it was a clown or a fox. The Akuma had to have been in the dreamcatcher that was clutched in the Akuma’s left hand whenever she had the chance to see through the shadows. But she couldn't get away carrying Chat on her back or shoulder. With a wince, she realized what she had to do. Holding the pane of glass overhead. she watched as the Akuma flew over the top of the glass, the translucent material tripping him up and sending him tumbling to the rooftop they were on. The Akuma may have been fast in the air, pushing her to the limits in terms of aerial speed but on foot, she was faster. Both Nightmare and Ladybug dived for the possessed object but Ladybug got there first, slamming her fist down on the wire construct of the dreamcatcher and releasing the Akumatized butterfly into the air. As she stood up she pulled her yoyo from her waist and snatched the butterfly from the air. Her friendly little goodbye was followed quickly by the miraculous cure, little ladybugs scurrying over the entire city to clean up the mess left behind.

“That was… unpleasant at best, it took way too long to get that cleared up.” Chat’s tone could not completely hide the bitterness in his voice. He had been useless at every turn tonight. He took hit after hit and it was only because ladybug needed him that he had been able to keep himself awake. Both times he had used cataclysm had been to escape from cages and prisons that had threatened to be their downfall. But the second cataclysm was not through Plagg but through his own energy and the hole it had created was significantly smaller than the first. Chat was running on fumes and it was visible. And when ladybug had only hummed in agreement he took that as his hint to leave.

* * *

“You sure you are okay to go to school today kid? You don’t look too hot.” Plagg’s voice was more than enough to pull him back from his thoughts. Without realizing it he had been standing in the center of the room idly as his thoughts had dragged him back to the bitter memories of the night before. Even once he had gotten home his sleep had been restless. Every dream plagued by nightmares lurking on the surface. That was something that learned about the Miraculous Cure. It could wash away the physical damage, but not mental damage. Pain from injuries, memories of what had occurred didn’t just disappear in a snap. Not unless they caused direct harm in the process. So it was hit or miss on just how much would be fixed.

“I’ll be fine, Plagg, it’s not like I can skip school when I have no way of explaining the reason as to why. Besides, I still have the photoshoot after school. I can’t exactly skip on that either.” Plagg hovered in the air before sighing and ducking into the hidden shirt pocket that was sewn into every shirt Adrien wore. Adrien wasn’t going to let a sleepless night be the reason he didn’t get to see his friends. He took the extra moment to apply his makeup in the bathroom mirror to cover up the dark bags in his eyes before he slipped out the front door to greet Gorilla. The large man stood beside the dark grey sedan, his face a neutral expression up until he noticed the makeup the young boy wore. He gave a gentle grunt before opening the back door for the blonde. Adrien kept his gaze away from the bigger man before climbing into the back seat and pulling his seatbelt into place.

Meanwhile across town, Marinette was in a flurry, her hair in a mess from waking up in a rush. Tikki gave a little sigh as she watched the flustered girl. It was the same thing every morning without pause. The little God was amused as she still had to get her out of bed even though she had never slept a wink. Marinette was too worked up, her mind in shambles from worrying all night about Chat. He had been hit hard and while she may not say it to his face, she had in fact grown very fond of the cat. He was worked ragged by the time they split ways. “Tikki, how could he even use cataclysm twice? There’s no way he had time to transform and recharge in that time.”

Tikki looked at her chosen in thought before she relented, “that’s because he didn’t transform. Likely he pulled from his natural energy. The black cat is known to be self-destructive, they will do anything to achieve the goal in mind. He probably exhausted himself just to use it as it is and definitely should not ever do that again. It was very dangerous! He could have been consumed by the cataclysm himself!” 

Marinette frowned at her words before nodding. She knew it wasn’t safe to have done that. He may have been tired before but the cat could barely move by the time he headed home. Chances are he probably got home and barely crawled into bed before passing out. “Tikki? Do you think Plagg taught him that? Or did he instinctively try? Or was it just the desperation that pushed him?” Tikki looked thoughtful for a moment, her eyes distant before she floated down to rest on Marinette’s pillow, waiting for Marinette to finish changing and finally be ready for the day ahead.

“I think it might have been a mix of all three. Knowing Plagg, he probably mentioned something about it. But I think it was instinct and desperation that made him call for the power. It truly is amazing that his chosen was able to pull it off. Plagg has lost more than one user to that path. The fact he not only lived but executed the power shows true strength and determination. But I will check with Plagg tomorrow to find out more.” Marinette thought on this for a moment, her eyes closing as the idea came to mind. Her kitty was closer to her then she knew. But opening and closing her mouth several times to speak she couldn’t find the words to say. In the end, she had classes waiting for her that she had to attend. Dressed and ready she headed out towards the school.

* * *

Adrien stepped from the car and made his way up the front steps of the school. Chloè wouldn’t be far behind and his sleep-deprived state wasn’t going to help him any when she arrived. Rushing inside he didn’t wait around to find Nino. He briskly walked to class, keeping his pace casual but his strides long. As soon as he entered the classroom he slumped into his seat and relaxed. He wasn’t the first to the room but nobody paid him much attention anyways as he sat down. Nino wasn’t very far behind, stride for stride with Alya as they moved to their seats. Adrien, satisfied with the absence of the blond, he set his head on his arms and let his eyes drift closed for just a moment. When he opened them again it was to the sound of the teacher sternly calling his name. With a sheepish smile, he quickly apologized and sat up properly. He could tell Nino was watching him with a concerned look but when he didn’t say anything Adrien allowed his attention to turn towards the teacher who began the lesson. Adrien struggled to keep his attention on the lesson, his notes were haphazard and scattered, unlike his usual perfect organization. Minutes ticked by slowly, drawing out in length until his eyes grew heavy. Nino was doing his best to intervene and keep him up whenever his eyes closed and he could feel Marinette and Alya behind him staring from time to time. At some point, he couldn't keep his eyes open. Eyes slowly slid shut as he settled into his arms to rest and around halfway through class he could faintly hear every breath Marinette took, slowly increasing in volume. He knew that couldn’t be right, there was no way he should have the ability to hear her so clearly. He had no idea what was going on but the longer he listened to her breath the more distinct it became.. He couldn’t hear her on Friday and no matter how hard he tried to think he couldn't think of a time this ever happened before. In the end, his attention was solely on the sound of her breathing as it soothed him. With each breath he took he subconsciously matched it to her pace, struggling to keep up as sleep tried to pull him under, but as his eyes started to drift closed and his breathing slowed he could feel his head start to droop. With a loud yelp, his head hit the desk hard and he bolted to his feet alert and cautious. It took him several moments to understand what had happened and before anyone could react he shoved his belongings into his bag and rushed out of class with a half-hearted excuse and mumbling about the nurse’s office.

Marinette watched over her classmate with concern. She couldn’t see his face but he looked exhausted when she came into class. He had never gone to class without Nino before. And Adrien would never fall asleep in class, she knew his father would be furious if he found out. Standing up from her seat she looked at the teacher calmly. 

“I’m going to go check on him and make sure he’s okay.” The teacher sighed before waving her hand to dismiss the bluenette. Marinette quickly gave chase after Adrien, she knew something wasn’t right, his behaviour was far from normal and she needed to figure out as to why. She pondered over the idea as to why he could be so tired. “Maybe his dad has his schedule filled up again, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time.” When she finally ran into him, she had quite literally RAN into him. Her arms flung out in a panic to catch herself but yet she never fully fell. She could feel a strong arm wrapped around her waist. Slowly opening her eyes she followed the sight of the familiar arm up to the sleeve of the white overshirt, a little higher and bluebells connected with emerald green. Immediately she stood up straight and flushed at the contact. She composed herself as quickly as she could. And when she turned her gaze back to Adrien he was leaning up against the lockers: his eyes already closed and his breathing softened. “Adrien? Hey, wake up.” She carefully shook his arm and watched him. When he stirred and stood up straight he swayed and blinked at her a few times to get the sleep from his gaze.

“Marinette? What are you doing here?” His eyes still held that ever-present drowsiness from earlier but he looked slightly more alert so she relaxed.

“I came to check on you. You had left class in such a rush and you were falling asleep. You never fall asleep. I uh. I just mean that you sit in front of me so of course, I watch, I mean see that you are usually more alert. Hehe, I mean you are Adrien and you are amazing, I mean at taking notes. N-not that I watch you I mean. I'm just sure you take notes really well and your handwriting is probably really pretty. I mean… I'm just going to stop talking now.” Adrien smiled a bit wider, the action reaching his eyes to lend them that sparkle that photographers only ever dream to capture. 

“Marinette, you came to check on me. That means a lot. But I'm okay, I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night. A last-minute photoshoot came up and I couldn't ignore it.” His voice was calm but he hated the fact that he so easily lied to a close friend. He hoped that last night's Akuma had kept her asleep without interfering so that she wouldn't know that anything was off with his lie. It was a default lie that would normally work but the Akuma meant nobody but Ladybug, him, the Akuma, and Hawkmoth were awake. There was no photoshoot. But she didn't know that.

Marinette looked at him skeptically before sighing with a nod. She couldn’t just call him out without exposing that she knew of an Akuma that all of Paris didn't even know about yet. “Alright, let's just get you to the nurse's office. Between Alya and Nino I'm sure we can get some notes written up for you so you don't miss out while you rest.” Adrien frowned at first but after a moment he began to reluctantly follow. Luckily when they arrived the nurse had stepped away, so with a slight grunt, she shifted the ever-increasing weight of Adrien leaning on her and made their way over to one of the few small beds they had and eased him into it. She smiled sweetly down at the blonde, his eyes already closed once his head hit the pillow. “Now then. Back to class I guess, I need to take notes for him otherwise he might get into trouble with his father.” She frowned at the thought of leaving his side, but with the idea of it being creepy to watch him sleep she reluctantly took only a few extra minutes to observe him. Under the pretext of making sure he was okay of course. Before she finally returned to the class she came from. Taking her seat once more she quickly fell into a hushed conversation with Alya to catch up on what she missed as well as to catch Alya up on what happened outside.

Adrien woke to the sound of an explosion. His eyes snapping open as he quickly bolted to his feet. A quick survey confirmed what he already knew. Everyone was gone. “Plagg. Claws out!” Plagg didn’t have the time to complain, his small body being absorbed into the ring in barely a second. Adrien relished the fluidity of the movements he made, his suit following his motions to take place. The lightweight fabric covering him from head to toe. First came the mask. The Chat Noir persona slipping into place with ease. Next came the ears. A quick brush of his hands summoned the familiar appendages with an unusual amount of velvety texture to the touch. Paying it no mind he continued the motion. The black suit creeping over his body before he curled in on himself. The tail bursting out behind him with a slight pinch. Transformation complete he gasped and covered the furry ears atop his head. The sounds around him that had once been loud were nearly deafening. Every footstep that clamoured down the halls were like thunder, crashing and rolling through his head and driving every rational thought into the deepest parts of his mind. He laid there, curled up on the nursing room floor for what felt like hours before he had adjusted to the heightened level of sound. He could hear the Akuma outside. Chat wobbled to his feet. Everything was off about this day, but thankfully his tail helped keep him balanced as he took each stride. His ears perked at a familiar whirring sound, and with the knowledge that ladybug was nearby he steeled his thoughts and pushed on with far more confidence. What met him outside was chaos, even as he landed next to Ladybug he couldn't shake the unsettling sight.

**Author's Note:**

> A new fanfic, and while not quite my first it has been a very long time. Hopefully, it isn't too bad and I'd love to get feedback.


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